[Mhiz Rebecca]

The Nigerian Airforce (NAF) is expecting arrival of war-planes and
helicopters from Pakistan and Russia to boost its fleets.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar made the
disclosure at a breakfast briefing with Editors of Online Media in
Abuja at the weekend.
Abubakar said: “I want to say that we have been enjoying support
from other countries. Sometimes arm procurement is shrouded in a
lot of politics.
“Unfortunately, I’m not a politician, so I cannot be able to say much
on that. But what I can tell you is that right now as I speak to you,
we are expecting the Pakistani Chief of Air Staff in Nigeria soon.
Pakistan has accepted to sell ten trainer airplanes. And that is why
the Pakistan Chief of Air Staff is coming for the induction ceremony
which is going to take place in Kaduna.
“We are really getting support from many countries. Similarly, we
have trained so many people in Pakistan, China. In the US, we have
pilots that are training right now.”
“We have other pilots that have just finished training from the United
Kingdom. We have additional pilots that are training in South Africa.
We have more pilots that are training in the Egyptian Air Force and
so many other places including Russia. We are really getting
support”, he said.
On the competence of Nigerian fighter pilots, Abubakar said “In the
last 18 months, we have flown almost 3000 hours with no incident.
“In terms of competence, I can tell you that the Nigerian Air Force
pilots are amongst the most competent. Because the training
curriculum is very clear. And that is why now in the Air Force you
look at the wings, pilots wear wings.
“We have categorized the wings according to their skill levels. We
also organize simulation training for our pilots, we organize
evaluation visits where pilots are evaluated without any notice. We
have also sent over 700 personnel of the NAF to different parts of the
world to train and acquire the skills required for them to be effective.”
The Chief of Air Staff said the air force was currently assisting the
Nigerian Army and the Navy in the North and South in countering
criminal activities of terrorists and militants through operational
strategy, air interdictions strategy and soft-core strategy.
He explained that the main objective was to create an enabling
environment for the ground and surface forces, to be able to operate
with little or no hindrance.
He continued: “Another substrategy under this is the reactivation of
airplanes. We have embarked on the reactivation of airplanes and
today as I speak to you we are on the thirteenth aircraft.
“What I mean by reactivation is that aircrafts that were not in
involved in any fight before the coming of the present federal
government; they were parked before but are today part of the fight.
“The thirteenth aircraft as I speak to you is being worked upon in
Yola and we are hoping that before the end of this month that
airplane will be flying. When you train, you must reactivate the
platform to be used in flying.”
The Air force boss also denied a recent rumour of helicopter crash in
Makurdi.
Explaining the incident involving Agusta AW 101 helicopter handed
over to NAF by President Muhammadu Buhari, he said: “What
happened in Makurdi was not a crash. Immediately we received the
aircraft from the Presidency, we took one of them to Kaduna to paint
it into desert camouflage. They removed the seal of the President and
painted it into a combat machine.
“When they finished the painting, they were supposed to go to
Maiduguri but they needed to go to Makurdi to pick certain things
before proceeding to Maiduguri. So the aircraft took off from Kaduna,
landed perfectly in Makurdi. They were just taxing to go and park
when the incident happened. I don’t want to pre-empt whatever
investigation that is going on.
“Those same pilots were the ones that picked the 21 Chibok girls
that were moved out in the night and brought them back to
Maiduguri and from Maiduguri to Abuja. So accidents happen and
we are investigating to find out why it happened and we will make it
public when we get the picture of what really happened.”
He also disclosed that the welfare of air men and other officers in the
Airforce had been improved upon through provisions of
accommodation, agricultural programs, housing schemes and other
welfare packages.
He added that people in host communities were also beneficiaries of
its services through the provisions of health facilities, water
boreholes, schools and skill acquisitions centres.